I like books of Victor Hugo. They really change my mind.
Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
231–240 of 1001 posts
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#232The Selfish Gene by Dawkins. The gene is the unit of replication, and this affects every process in this universe.
Yeah, that was a biggie for me, until I read "Darwinian Fairytales" by David Stove. Everyone who has read Dawkins needs to have a look at this.
A philosopher has a look at what Dawkins actually says and realizes it is basically medieval demonology dressed up in pseudoscientific verbiage.
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#233Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" - it changed how I approach teamwork and conversations. It made me aware of how my behaviour was limiting outcomes. :) Frankly, it made me aware that I was being an asshole and that I should change. However, it wasn't necessarily the book, but the course that I found really useful.
+1 for the book. In my case, I couldn't really follow or properly understand the advice in that book until I stumbled upon The Charisma Myth and followed the exercises there. Only then I had enough social skills to apply Dale Carnegie's tips.
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#234Self organization in biological systems
It explains with many examples how stable, global structures arise from simple, local interactions.
It changed the way I think about economics, politics, society, evolution, computer science, and a whole host of other things.
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#235Arthur Clarke's Childhood's end. I know it's fiction but it left me speechless. And aside from the descriptions of technology foreseen at that it was written, I think it's timeless.
“No utopia can ever give satisfaction to everyone, all the time. As their material conditions improve, men raise their sights and become discontented with power and possessions that once would have seemed beyond their wildest dreams. And even when the external world has granted all it can, there still remain the searchings of the mind and the longings of the heart.”
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#236“The Design of Everyday Things” changed the way I see literally everything. You’ll never look at doors the same way again, and prepare to forever be frustrated by poorly designed objects, and delighted by incredibly well designed ones. There is no better book on the philosophy of UX, imho.
+1 reflecting back I think this is one of the books that has been key to changing my thinking. Was one of the first design book I read, but the lessons have been with me for the last decade+.
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#2371984 changed the way I perceive language and culture permanently. The notion that if certain words no longer exist in the language, then the associated idea will disappear from the culture was Earth-shaking to me.
Another idea that book drove home was the power for the media and the utter control of your life a government can exert when it completely controls it.
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#238One book that changed me was reading Master and Margarita in Russian for the first time. It was the first book I started reading I could not put down until the end. Gained a lot of appreciation for literature at that time. The other book that I enjoyed and changed me was ‘The Wisdom of Insecurity’ by Alan Watts. I was a fan of Alan Watts works through his lectures already and it was wonderful to hear his ideas in wri…
I LOVE the Master and Margarita but I've only read it in English. When you say you read it in Russian for the first time, did you mean you've read it in English before? If so, were there huge differences?
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#239The right to earn a living:
https://www.amazon.com/Right-Earn-Living-Economic-Freedom/dp...
and the concept of the political: https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo54...
I used to think of laws and society as just arbitrary things. However, I now see that they reflect thousands of years of wisdom / improvement and are critical to creating the conditions for people to flourish. The right to earn a living helped me understand the common law system and why we should care about unenumerated rights and how to create a more just society.
The concept of the political helped me see how nihilistic egalitarianism and feckless bureaucracy isn't a bug but a feature of liberal democracy and how it doesn't have to be that way.
Re: Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?
#240"The Problem of Political Authority: The Right to Coerce and the Duty to Obey".
I'm wrecked after this book. Hated that I couldn't find a good way to disagree with it. Feels like so many nice things I thought about the world were ruined, and will never come back.
The implications permeate so much of our daily life.
I... wouldn't really recommend reading it.